Note: The headline on this story has been changed to reflect the computers were desktop computers, not laptops.
Police recovered eight out of the 10 computers stolen last month from the Parkridge Community Center in Ypsilanti, an official told AnnArbor.com Monday.
Parkridge Community Center
Courtesy of the city of Ypsilanti
Detective Sgt. Thomas Eberts said Monday police recovered five of the stolen computers from an Ypsilanti Township man and three from an Ypsilanti man. The Ypsilanti Township man is part of a fencing operation and charges are being sought for receiving and concealing stolen property, police said.
A fence is a person who purposely buys stolen items and resells them.
“We’re still working with him to possibly recover one more,” Eberts said.
Police said last month that multiple people broke into the center through an open window and took 10 computers. The theft occurred between 8 p.m. May 31 and 6:30 a.m. June 1 at the community center, 591 Armstrong St.
The estimated value of the stolen computers was $20,000. The computers had been acquired two months before the theft as a part of the Washtenaw Community College Community Enrichment program.
Between 35 and 45 children used the computers that were in the community center’s lab. At the time of the theft, staff members told AnnArbor.com that the incident “broke our spirit.”
The iMacs were insured and Parkridge was expected to get new computers from WCC after the theft, according to community center officials.
Officials at the community center directed a request for comment to WCC officials Monday morning.
Crime Stoppers offered up to $1,000 for information that led to the arrest of the suspects in the break-in. It was not clear whether police received information that led to the recovery of the computers.
Eberts said the Ypsilanti Township man in possession of five of the stolen computers is a suspect in the reselling of the computers, not the break-in. Other people identified by police in the case are still under investigation, he said.
Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to call the Ypsilanti police at 734-483-9510 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.